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David Cummings, President and CEO of USPA Properties, Inc., is taking polo to the next level.
His vision has been to develop a long-term source of revenue for polo through a licensing program of the USPA trademarks.
Thirteen years after moving from USPA CEO (2000-2004) to taking over and organizing the company, USPA Global Licensing has become a worldwide success with 750 U.S. Polo Assn. retail stores worldwide generating $1.5 billion in revenue.
The revenue helps to underwrite and
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David Cummings, President and CEO of USPA Properties, Inc |
support several programs for education about and promotion of polo in the U.S., from memberships and handicaps to clubs and tournaments; from interscholastic programs to Team USPA mentoring and equine welfare and player safety.
The U.S. Polo Assn. brand carries an extensive collection of classically-styled, high quality, casual clothing. Products for men, women and children include polo shirts, tees, denim, khakis, hoodies and much more for an active and comfortable lifestyle.
“I told my Chairman I thought I would be more productive if I worked on the for-profit side of the business,” Cummings said. “I saw the opportunity for us to develop a sports marketing program whose mission was to create a long-term source of revenue, to reorganize the sport and run it like a business.”
Cummings set up a business plan that included the hiring of a vice president of licensing, developing a branding book, a designer, the product, merchandising, retail store design, marketing and public relations.
“We are happy with our progress,” Cummings said. “We built a successful brand not only in the U.S. but internationally.”
For the first time, U.S. Polo Assn. is sponsoring ChukkerTV’s broadcast of every game in the USPA East Coast Open which is currently being played at Greenwich Polo Club and surrounding polo clubs.
NBC Sports will air a 60-minute taped broadcast on Sept. 17 at 3 p.m. with drone aerials and instant replays for team challenges also provided by ChukkerTV, worldwide leaders in polo broadcasting.
“My focus is to build public awareness and a relationship between the sport and the brand,” Cummings said. “We have spent a lot of time and effort in trying to professionalize the sport itself in how we stream and broadcast polo matches. We want to build a viewership on TV and streaming and in doing so, will sell more product and drive more people to the games to whatever club is closest to them.”
Cummings said that NBC Sports has been an avid supporter of polo, broadcasting the “Triple Crown” of U.S. polo including the U.S. Open earlier this year (April 30) and has scheduled the Gulfstream Pacific Coast Open for Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. and USPA East Coast Open for Sept. 17 at 3 p.m. re-broadcasting.
“The beauty of doing the ECO and PCO is that it gives us a reach demographically to different parts of the United States,” Cummings said. “Streaming the East Coast Open will be highly viewed and will reach polo players and polo fans internationally.
“We are doing everything to build viewership, focusing on social media whether it’s Twitter or Facebook. We are using all different vehicles to drive to our new ( uspolo.org) website that incorporates the brand as well as the sport.” 
The brand has already reached 2.7 million Facebook followers.
Cummings is particularly excited about USPA Global Licensing recently being named the official apparel provider of the Federation of International Polo (FIP), the sport’s international governing body that features 19,000 members.
The partnership will be launched in Berlin, Germany, on Sunday, Sept. 4, at the FIP European Championship and will continue at the 2017 FIP World Polo Championships in Australia. The U.S. Polo Assn. is outfitting the FIP officials and teams with U.S. Polo Assn.-produced jerseys, pants, jackets, caps and equipment bags.
“FIP made great strides by standardizing the rules of polo internationally, which was vital for the continued growth of the game, both on and off the field,” Cummings said. “We look forward to our extended relationship and expanding the exposure of our U.S. Polo Assn. brand.”
By Arianna Delin, Sharon Robb
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